PAP testing in the post HPV vaccine era

Dr Stella Heley talks about the ongoing need for routine PAP screeing in young women, despite the good overall takeup of the quadrivalent HPV vaccine in this cohort. The free 'catch up' HPV vaccination program for women under 27 in Australian ended on 31/12/2009. Despite the good uptake of this vaccination program, this cohort of women will continue to require PAP test screening as per the routine schedule and we will continue to see a substantial number of these women with both high and low grade changes on their PAP smears. Many of these women will have been already sexually active prior to vaccination and therefore been exposed to HPV. Some may not have completed the course, or missed out on vaccination. Many may be exposed to one of the oncogenic strains not covered by the vaccination.The ongoing HPV vaccination program for 12-13 year old girls will ultimately lead to decreased abnormalities due to vaccination prior to sexual activity and greater response to vaccination when vaccines are administered at a younger age. When these young women are in their 20s and 30s it is likely that a different cervical screening program and schedule will be appropriate.

Source: Australian Family Physician audio - November 30, 2009 Category: Primary Care Authors: The Royal Australian College Of General Practitioners Tags: Podcasts Source Type: podcasts